Friday, August 19, 2005

Willis earns fifth shutout for Marlins
MIAMI  Dontrelle Willis pitched a five-hitter for his fifth shutout this season, and the Florida Marlins shook a hitting slump to beat the San Diego Padres 6-0 Wednesday.

Royal pain: K.C. drops 18th straight
SEATTLE  The Kansas City Royals lost their club-record 18th straight game, moving within three of matching the longest skid in American League history by falling 11-5 to the last-place Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

Phillies split doubleheader
PHILADELPHIA  Carlos Baerga’s go-ahead single in the eighth inning lifted Washington to a 5-4 victory and a split of a day-night doubleheader with Philadelphia on Thursday.

Business Briefs
Area chambers set schedules
Tye comes to Kenai
Business contest running

Homer makes post-season push
Last year, the Homer football team missed its goal of a winning season by one point in the final minutes of their final game at Skyview.

Soldotna uses summer to plug holes
In the two weeks of practice leading up to the season, the sun was shining for the first time in days and the football fields outside of Soldotna High School were absent a varsity team.

Kards need new leaders to step up
Kenai Central coach Jim Beeson is not worried so much about replacing the yards, touchdowns, tackles and blocks of 2005 graduates like Dakota Craig and Michael Scheffert.

Worked up ... to let loose
After many months of preparation, people involved in putting on the Kenai Peninsula State Fair are ready to unwind, and they hope fellow peninsula residents join them.

From the bookshelf
Death reminds us how precious life is, but seldom consorts with happiness. Yet Heather Lende finds her job as a writer of obituaries a vital part of the life she has come to love.

Reader glad man charged in Russian River bear shooting
As one who keeps an RV in Anchorage and owns a lot on Crooked Creek by Kasilof, I’m very happy to read that someone has been charged with the killing of the sow on the Russian River. When I was up there recently, she was making regular appearances at the river.

Iraq war must be stopped
These illegal wars must be stopped! We are not only pouring time, energy, money, and materials into this madness, but we are pouring the blood of the nation into such stupidity as the world has rarely seen before. Let the children of the Cheneys and the Bushes go over to Iraq and be blown up, we prefer to keep our children here. Stop the war!

Not all neighborhood residents object to cemetery site
We are writing in regards to your article on neighbors expressing fears over Soldotna cemetery. Until Mr. Dombovy started going around the neighborhood with his scare tactics on embalming fluids leaking from caskets into the ground water, we are not too sure many people even thought much about the cemetery going in near our subdivision.

Search for Kenai manager begins
The Kenai City Council approved spending $3,500 to advertise for a new city manager to replace Linda Snow, whose contract expired July 16.

Talking points
Five candidates got the race for Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor rolling in front of a full house Wednesday, addressing issues on efficient government, budget, taxes and land.

Beluga status could change
Cook Inlet’s population of beluga whales is half what it was less than a decade ago, leading some experts to argue the whales should fall under the protection of the Endangered Species Act.

No cough drop yet
The number of confirmed cases of pertussis in Soldotna has grown to 18, according to the state Division of Public Health in Anchorage.

Back in time
By the end of September, area residents will have a rare opportunity to peek into their past when the structural restoration on the first Soldotna Post Office, built in 1948, is scheduled to be completed.

Ballot language set
Final language for five propositions headed for the Oct. 4 municipal ballot were approved Tuesday by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly.

Assembly approves land swap
Soldotna residents moved one step closer to finally getting a cemetery Tuesday evening, when the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly tentatively approved a land swap that would give the city title to its first choice of locations for the planned facility.

Time to start thinking about Winter Games
With the salmon still running strong, it’s hard to believe that summer is near its end. But Old Man Winter is on his way, and this year, he’s bringing a lot of friends.

World Cup berth within reach
EAST HARTFORD, Conn.  Brian McBride's goal just 91 seconds into the game moved the United States to the brink of clinching its fifth straight World Cup appearance.

Sports views: T.O. remains a question mark for Philadelphia
Terrell Owens met with Andy Reid early Wednesday morning and apparently told the Philadelphia Eagles' coach that his heart and attitude were in the right place. Then he went out and practiced very well, demonstrating that maybe the T.O. sideshow is finally over.

NHL won't be on ESPN
NEW YORK (AP)  ESPN turned down what it said was the NHL's final offer for cable broadcast rights Wednesday night, meaning it's likely that hockey games will air elsewhere on cable this season.

Woods, Singh resume their battle
AKRON, Ohio  Three days after the major championship season ended, Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh played like they still have plenty to prove Thursday by taking a share of the lead in the NEC Invitational.

Birch Ridge Report
The days are getting shorter along with my fairway drives and articles, but the crowds at Birch Ridge prove the theory that most golfers are in denial of the impending winter holidays. In fact, those festivities are closer than you think; all the fireweed in my yard is white and fuzzy, and you know what that means  time for new coordinating fall outfits!

Anthrax epidemic strikes Great Plains cattle
ENDERLIN, N.D. (AP)  An anthrax outbreak has killed hundreds of cattle in parts of the Great Plains, forcing quarantines and devastating ranchers who worry how they will recover financially.

Lawsuit seeks to protect 3 caribou
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP)  Only a handful of endangered caribou remain in the remote Selkirk Mountains near the Canadian border, and a federal court lawsuit seeks to ban snowmobiles from their winter range.